Round Trip

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“Round Trip” adds a whole new meaning to being stuck in the outbacks of Australia through a fun and intense thriller. When the film opened up, I initially thought I was going to be in for a predictable ride, but boy was I wrong. Think Mad Max meets Christopher Nolan’s storytelling structure where he plays with certain elements to add a whole new level of amazement. Yeah. That’s what the filmmakers do in this. And it even gives it a quirky-vibe throughout the whole thing that adds to the overall fun.

When the film opens we are introduced to a Police Officer escorting a Prisoner across the vast land of Australia. It turns out the Police Officer is lost and the Prisoner starts to freak out after noticing a boomerang stuck in the middle of the road. What? Why would he be freaking out over a boomerang? Well, the short film makes sure to explain itself — in depth — while allowing the viewer to come up with their own interpretation of what it can possibly mean. I’m just going to put it out there right now: nobody will have the slightest guess or see what happens after that. All I will say is chaos ensues and it becomes quite the trip for the Police Officer and the Prisoner.

I think what stood out the most, to me at least, was the casting of the two actors who play the Police Officer. They are 100% the complete opposite of each other in every way possible. The filmmakers and actors use that element to their advantage as the interaction between the two is funny in some areas of the film. It doesn’t feel forced, it feels natural, and because it feels natural the circumstances the two find themselves in became a little more real and intense for myself.

Another thing that worked well in this piece is the cinematography and the stunt work. What the filmmakers accomplish in this short film is grasping the dreadfulness of what it would be like to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with no food, no water, and no help. It would be awful. With a warm color palette, we feel the intensity of the heat and quench our thirst as the characters do in this as well. It’s a situation you realize that there is no escape from. What the cinematography catches, also, is some immense stunt work that showcases the dangers of the unexplored outback.

Overall this film was fun and quirky while being an intense thrill ride through it’s six minutes of play time. There’s a lot to admire with how original and fresh the idea is and how it surpassed the level of expectation I originally had before watching it. The characters are bizarre and likable as well as the situation we find ourselves stuck in along with them. Check this out if you want to see something that’s fresh and surprising. Like I stated earlier: you think you know what’s going to happen, but the filmmakers brilliantly throw some curveballs into the mix to really throw off your expectations.